Iowa pork producer Erin Brenneman uses her high energy, approachable personality, and her keen photographic eye (like the selfie she took on our cover) to share farm life with her followers on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other social platforms.

“With the social media revolution, the way we converse and get information has changed forever, and it is only going to change faster and more drastically moving forward,” Brenneman says.

This dynamic young farm woman is a contributor to Farm Journal’s PORK (read the editorial to learn more about how she became a contributor) and was named one of the 2015 Faces of Farming by the U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance. Since that time, she has given numerous presentations to both farm and non-farm groups, and does a stellar job of sharing the importance of agriculture.

She previously was a farrowing manager at Brenneman Pork, but her new role is PR and social media manager. She also participates in several farm and non-farm groups, while raising their two young boys, T.J., 12, and Peyton, 6, with her husband, Tim.

“Sharing about farming can be a full-time job, or just a few minutes a day,” she says. “But one thing is for sure—every little bit helps!”

The Key is to be Real

Brenneman says the key to effective social media is to “share the things that make us human. This is what peels us away from the ‘big ag’ image that we are so often stamped with,” she adds.

“That false image has been ingrained into the minds of many consumers and needs to be changed. Only we farmers have the power, knowledge and simply the everyday experience to change it. We need to stand out, not only as elite caretakers of our animals, but also as ordinary people when we step outside the pig buildings. We are humans with hearts. We have a passion for our pigs and we care deeply for our farm families.”

The Brennemans also give farm tours and most recently, they built a baseball field on the farm. It’s another way to connect town and country, and it doesn’t hurt that Brenneman loves baseball, especially the Cubs. Visit her social media pages and that fact is abundantly clear.